Impellers in the form of guide wheels for use in hydrodynamic speed variators/torque converters are known in a large number of versions from the existing art. These function as a reaction element, and serve to influence the transmissible torque while at the same time influencing the speed of rotation. Impellers of this sort are manufactured in various ways. They can be constructed of a plurality of components joined together in a rotationally fixed connection. The individual blades can be fixed in the outer and inner rings by positive locking, friction locking or material connection. Designs are previously known from the published patents WO 2007/110025 and WO 2007/110019 in which parts of the impellers, including an inner ring and an outer ring, as well as blades situated between them oriented in the circumferential direction, are executed as a single-piece component. These ranges of parts can be designed in this case as segments, or also as a complete blade rim ring. Published patent WO 2007/110025 reveals an impeller or guide wheel for a hydrodynamic torque converter, which has a large number of blades. In this case, the guide wheel has a plurality of components manufactured separately from each other and each including one or more of the blades of the guide wheel, which components are firmly connected to each other. These components are situated relative to each other in such a way that the blades of various of these components are situated at an offset to each other in the circumferential direction extending around a central axis of the guide wheel, forming intermediate spaces that exist in this circumferential direction. Each of the blades is made from a single piece, between its respective entry edge and its respective exit edge, so that each of the blades is made, for example, from exactly one of the components that have one or more blades of the guide wheel. At the same time, individual blades can be assigned to such various components. In one embodiment, a guide wheel includes a plurality of components manufactured separately from each other and each having one or more of the blades of the guide wheel, which are firmly connected to each other and have an inner ring and an outer ring, whereby the axial spacing of two outer rings varies from the axial spacing of the inner rings assigned to these two outer rings to form a spread, in particular a spread that increases the axial rigidity.
An analogous design is previously known from WO 2007/110019.
The blades of impellers, in particular guide wheels or stator blade wheels, are subjected to very high axial forces and forces in the circumferential direction, for which allowance must be made by the blade geometry and the design of the connections between the joints and the elements that carry the blades, which results in high demands on the manufacturing. Even with a one-piece design there may not necessarily be adequate rigidity in the axial and encircling directions for high torques.